Defiant Musings: Thoughts on feminism, technology, work, life

August Report: Slowly Getting There

Yesterday was September 1 and today is Labor Day (yes, already!) — to me, that means summer is officially over (despite classes having started two weeks ago) — and it’s also time for an update on my fitness project. Because I love data (#quantifiedself anyone?), here are my stats for August:

For someone who before August exercised only sporadically, these are pretty good numbers, especially considering that I traveled for part of that time (and was thus tempted to blow off the assigned resistance band workouts as working out in a hotel room is a pain. The fact that I did not is really rather surprising).

I am also feeling more energetic and sleeping better (although oddly, less on average). I’ve also improved my diet (still a ways to go there, however) and cut back on alcohol and caffeine.

What’s surprised the most is how much I have actually enjoyed what I’ve been doing — as someone whose self description includes “aversion to sweat,” my newfound love for Kinesis and strength training has been a revelation. Cardio, on the other hand, is still nothing more than a necessary evil (unless it is a walk in the Hollywood Hills rewarded with the view to the left. Then it’s okay). Only thing to do is crank up the tunes and suffer through it.

In the next week or so, we will redo the original assessments to see what changes the last month has brought. Whatever those reveal, the biggest change is that this is starting to feel like a permanent habit. That is the most surprising change of all.